


Waiting

by Igris



Category: Free!
Genre: Angst, M/M, Trains, sourin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-17
Updated: 2014-09-17
Packaged: 2018-02-17 18:01:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2318390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Igris/pseuds/Igris
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He can't recall the time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Waiting

He looks down at the pass in his hands. He doesn't remember paying for it, but then, he seems to forget a lot of things lately. Too tired to think about it, he puts it in his pocket.  
The muted rattling of handbags and briefcases mix with the wind and other sounds, a calm white noise as they fly along on the rail. Where are they right now?  
He glances around the train, unsure. Everyone else seems to be dozing or preoccupied. He leans toward the passenger across from him. A tap on the shoulder of black hair and a sweatshirt, waking them.  
"What's the next stop?"  
"What?"  
"The next stop. I must've dozed off."  
Drooping blue eyes. It's a young man, who spends at least a minute staring at him. "When did you board?"  
"Huh?"  
"The train. When did you board?"  
"I-" He takes a moment to recall, it can take him time to recall.

He can't.  
He looks down at his shoes, red sneakers.

"I was thirty-two" The passenger explains. "When I boarded." The two fall silent. 

He looks up from his shoes, out the window. It's dark outside the train, and he thinks he can see the ocean off in the distance. Above his head, hanging grips swing ever so slightly, the motion of the train keeping them restless. A light flickers. That boy was early twenties at best.

"You don't-"  
"Sousuke" The boy was still watching him.  
"What?"  
"Sousuke. I'm Sousuke."  
"Rin." He'd never forget that. "You don't look any older than twenty, Sousuke. "  
"It's my happiest age" he says simply.  
"What do you mean 'when you were thirty-two'?"  
"When I boarded. When did you board?"  
"I'm..eighty-two, if that's what you're getting at."  
"I'm happy for you, then."  
"...Thanks."

The strangeness of the exchange might have warranted moving to another seat. But the boy has such a warm smile on his face now, and he hasn't talked to anyone, not really, for so long.

So he stays on his seat.

"Where are you headed to?" He tries to make conversation.

"Nowhere I know of. I'll be getting off soon though."  
"Running off?"  
That gets a laugh out of the boy, Sousuke.  
"No, I've just been waiting. Don't you ever wait, Rin?."  
"Sometimes I feel like I've spent my whole life waiting." He gives a somewhat rueful chuckle at that. "I wonder if patience really comes with time."  
"It's resignation that there's nothing you can do but wait. "  
"Think so?"  
Sousuke seems to understand, despite his age. 

Wise beyond his years, it seems he's found a kindred spirit in this young man. There's a feeling he's forgetting something in the back of his head, but for now, the two share stories, the train a light in the dark.

It's probably a good hour later when Rin cuts his mouth.

The pain doesn't surprise him so much as the blood does. His teeth weren't that sharp anymore. He tests with a nip to his finger. Blood beads where it was cut, and he takes the time to examine his hand.  
He falls silent, staring at his hands. The scars and wrinkles he'd amassed over the years-they're gone.

"Rin?" 

Confusion is nothing new to Rin, but there's something completely throwing him for a loop here.

"Rin."  
"My hands."  
"What happened before you boarded?"  
"These aren't my hands."  
"Rin-"

He looks up to the window, to his reflection. There's no grey hair, no stooped shoulders. Red locks, tall, wide-eyed.  
It's him.  
But young.

"What is this?" He looks back to Sousuke.

"What happened before you boarded?"  
"I can't remember."  
"Try."  
"I can't, you don't understand."  
"Please, try." For a moment, he looks like he might cry. "Please."

So Rin does.  
They sit there, face to face, as Rin tries his memory.  
He hunches over, mostly rambling, listing to himself the latest things he remembers. Sousuke is silent throughout. 

It's a long while before he remembers.  
"It's January." Everything seems strangely quiet now.  
"The eighteenth." Or it could be the twentieth. He doesn't know.

He pulled his pass out of his pocket, folded it over, under.  
"A house-I have a house, always empty. small, small town. I stayed outside last night, since I forgot my keys, Locked them inside." His brow creases. "No, I would need keys to lock my door-I went for a walk." That was right. "The park nearby. I couldn't sleep. The park always made me feel better." 

What then? 

Sousuke quietly moved over to the seat beside him. Rin glared at his sneakers, struggling, frustrated. A small rip, a tear on his pass.

"I didn't trip over anything, I just fell-I don't know what happened. It was cold that night. Nobody outside but me-what was I thinking?"  
"What then?"  
"It was cold that night. I was alone for a long time."  
"And then?"  
It's frustrating, trying to remember. 

He's shaking.

There's nothing else to remember

The pass falls to the floor.

"I died." He turns to look at Sousuke. He feels like he should be more upset."Where am I?"  
"The afterlife," He shrugs. "or well, part of it."  
"It's...a train."  
"Yeah." Silence. "It goes on forever."

Everything turns light outside. They pass through a tunnel.

"I died alone."  
"Almost all of us here did."  
He nods toward a group of people near the back; a redheaded man, "Motorcycle accident-" a lilac-haired boy "suicide-" A young girl. "heart attack in her sleep. She didn't suffer. Had a fine life" He smiles at the last one.  
"Why was I alone?" He's still forgetting something, tearing away at the back of his mind.

"What about you?" Rin asks.  
"I drowned. I think there was a storm, but I'll never know for sure. I mostly just remember my arm being pinned down" He gives something between a smile and a grimace, his words light. "It was kind of ironic. I was a good swimmer before." He rubs his shoulder, voice and face becoming more subdued.  
"It was alright." His hand drops. "I left someone behind though. That's why I stay here. That's why almost all of us stay here."

There's a knife in his throat. "What was their name?"  
Sousuke smiles sadly.  
It's like glass and aluminum foil in his head. He's crying, although he doesn't know why, and he remembers.  
All of it, he remembers.  
"Hey Rin."  
"I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry." He tries wiping his face, he can barely see now.  
"Don't be." But his voice cracks.  
Arms wrap around his shoulders, hold him tightly. It's been so long.  
And for a long time, they stand there clinging to each other.

And Rin can't stop crying.  
"Fifty years."  
"Don't be sad," He smiles. "I'm glad you got a long life, Rin."  
Rin just holds him tighter. 

Eventually, the tears dry. They let go of each other.  
"So what now?"  
"We leave."  
"How? You said the train goes on forever."  
"That doesn't mean you can't stop."

He begins walking towards the door near the end, Rin close behind. There are stars shining through the window. No-one stirs. Sousuke pushes open the door.

Outside, it's pure darkness, and the wind lashes viciously against them, pulling at them. Sousuke looks to Rin, an unspoken question.  
He nods, pressing closer to him, and together they step out.  
The wind stops.  
It's complete silence.

They walk on, the train, the people fading behind them.

"Rin."

"Sousuke."

"I don't know what's the next stop."

It's all darkness, but there's no fear. 

Hands clasp hands.

**Author's Note:**

> So yeah, Eternal Summer ends tomorrow and I'm dying. I hope you guys are alright.  
> I've never written a fanfic before, so I'll see how this goes.  
> Constructive criticism or any sort of comment will be treasured in my heart forever! Thanks for reading!


End file.
